Aker Philadelphia Shipyard said Wednesday it has won a contract to construct two 3,600 TEU Jones Act containerships for Matson Navigation Company. Aker says firm contracts are in place for the two vessels with a total value of $418 million. The vessels will be delivered in Q3 and Q4 2018.

The 850 foot long “Aloha” class vessels will be the largest Jones Act containerships ever constructed and will be utilized in Matson’s service from the U.S. West Coast to Hawaii. The vessels are capable of carrying a variety of container sizes and are able to operate at speeds in excess of 23 knots. The vessels will be built with dual fuel engines and will be ready for conversion to LNG propulsion.

“We have a proven track record of building containerships and are greatly looking forward to being partnered with Matson again,” said Kristian Rokke, Aker Philadelphia Shipyard President and CEO. APSI previously delivered four containerships to Matson between 2003 and 2006.

Matt Cox, Matson President and CEO, remarked, “Matson has been very pleased with the performance and operating efficiencies of the four containerships built for Matson by Aker. We’re confident Aker will once again deliver quality ships for Matson.”

Rokke continued, “The planned delivery dates for these new containerships allow APSI to continue to capitalize on tight oil opportunities by constructing eight product tankers between 2015 and 2017 while still positioning the shipyard for the renewal of the Jones Act container fleet. The winning of this order provides the shipyard significant backlog and valuable visibility out 2018, which is positive for our shareholders and other stakeholders as we expect to use this opportunity to further strengthen our competitive position.”

Aker Philadeliphia Shipyard is currently constructing two 115,000 dwt crude oil carriers for SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., Exxon Mobil Corporation’s U.S. marine affiliate. Both of these crude oil tankers are scheduled for delivery in 2014. Pursuant to the joint venture announced on August 9, Aker Philadelphia also has contracts for the construction of product tankers with Crowley.